This week we were introduced to Cinema 4D and the basic functions on how to do 3d modelling.

This is the screen that you’ll be greeted with when you open Cinema 4D (R14) as well as your workspace. On the upper left side is your legend – it keeps track of the items that you have created on the project (much like Flash’s library). When modelling a new object, always make sure that it begins at coordinate 0,0,0 (x,y,z respectively).

These 4 buttons (located on the right left of your workspace) are your navigation tools throughout the entire modelling process in Cinema 4D. On the left is panning button, next to it is zoom in-zoom out button. Following right after it is orbiting button (view surrounding the area – note that orbiting doesn’t change the coordinate of the object, but rotating does). The last button lets you change the view of your workspace – you’ll be greeted with a perspective view, but you can change this to top, right and front view.

Here are some pre-setted simple shapes that you can use and modify in creating your object.

(A supposed ice cream cone and a ship with flat sail??)

Here are tools for you to create vector shapes. You can make them 3D by using the Nurbs functions – Lathe, Extrude, HyperNurbs, Loft, Sweep. Combining simple vector shapes and these functions could create many interesting shapes.

We also practiced on modelling a chess piece (reference picture shown in class on projector screen). The challenge was really to make the 3d model as accurate and precise as the real object – I struggled with creating the curves of the piece and the scaling of each parts.

Step by step process of creating the chess piece & the functions I used to achieve the shapes

Render view (lighting added)

01/08/2016

For our exercise we are supposed to make a 3d model of a lantern, as close as possible to the picture that we referenced it from. I’m still working on how to make the smaller details, as well as the frame of the lantern.